JP2625003B2 - Machine tool with gang head exchange device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a machine tool provided with a plurality of gang heads mounted on the tip of a drive unit, and automatically replacing and using the gang heads.

[Conventional technology]

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Sho 62-188607 and 62-224509 disclose an increased number of gang heads used in this type of machine tool. In each of these techniques, a plurality of gang heads are detachably supported on the outer portion of a revolving structure provided on an index device and indexed into an upper position and a lower position, and the gang head indexed in a lower position is provided to a drive unit. It is designed to be mounted and processed, and the gang head indexed at the upper position is replaced with that in the stocker or magazine.The latter technology is more compact than the former, and the replacement operation is also easier. Easy.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the latter technique, in order to replace a gang head in a magazine provided on the rear upper portion of a machine tool with a gang head located above a revolving body, a tip of a rotating table that cantileverly swings around a horizontal axis. The gang head is clamped to the position, the position of the magazine is higher than the above-mentioned upper position by the radius of the turntable, and the gang head in the magazine is engaged and supported at the upper position of the rotating body. 4 operations (magazine indexing, clamping to the turntable,
(Rotation of the turntable, engagement with the revolving unit). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to lower the position of the gang head stocked on the upper part to make the apparatus more compact and to reduce the replacement operation.

[Means for solving the problem]

To this end, a machine tool having a gang head exchanging device according to the present invention has a bed 10 as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
And an index device 20 supported above the gang head H. The gang head H is rotatably driven around the horizontal axis in the front-rear direction. A and a revolving body 25 indexing to a lower position B;
A work head W is mounted on the front end of a work head H which is guided and supported on the bed 10 so as to be able to reciprocate in the front-rear direction below the bed 20 and indexed to a lower position B by the revolving body 25.
In a machine tool having a gang head exchanging device including a drive unit 12 for processing, a support frame 16 provided above the index device 20 and fixed to the bed 10, and horizontally mounted on the support frame Endless support rails 30 and a plurality of transport pallets movably suspended and supported by the support rails, each of which supports one gang head H so as to be disengageable by horizontal movement orthogonal to the support rails. 40 and a pair with each gang head H supported by each transport pallet,
A guide block 45 removably engaged with an engagement portion of each gang head with the drive unit 12, and each of the transport pallets 40 is moved along the support rail 30 to be supported by the transport pallets. A driving device 50 for indexing each of the gang heads H to an exchange position C just behind the revolving body 25 at an upper position A, and a dividing device provided behind the exchange position C for dividing the gang heads H to the exchange position. A transfer device that has an advancing / retreating member 62 at the front end portion that engages with the guide block 45 by the take-out movement, and causes the gang head to be disengaged from the transport pallet 40 and engaged with the revolving body 25 by advancing the advancing / retreating member.
It is characterized by consisting of 60.

[Action]

In a state where there is no gang head supported by the revolving unit 25 at the upper position A, the driving device 50 is operated to move the transport pallet 40 supported by the support rail 30 and index a desired gang head H to the replacement position C. . By the indexing movement, the guide block 45 engaged with the gang head H is engaged with the reciprocating member 62 at the front end of the transfer movement 60. Next, the transfer device 60 is operated, and the reciprocating member 62 moves forward, whereby the gang head H moves from the exchange position C to the upper position A just before it, is separated from the transport pallet 40 and moves to the revolving unit 25. It is engaged and supported. The gang head H is driven only by the rotation of the revolving unit 25 so that the guide block 45
And is indexed to the lower position B, and the drive unit
Workpiece W is mounted on the front end of twelve. To return the gang head H engaged and supported at the upper position A of the revolving structure 25 to the stock state supported by the support rail 30, the transfer device 60 and the drive device 50 are operated in the reverse order to the above.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention having the above structure, the position of each gang head supported and supported by the support rail is at the same height as the upper position of the gang head engaged and supported by the revolving structure. The overall height of the device is reduced, and the device becomes compact. Further, since the guide block engaged with each gang head is engaged with the advancing / retracting member at the front end of the transfer device by indexing to the exchange position, the gang head supported on the support rail via the transport pallet is used. The exchange operation for engaging and supporting the revolving superstructure at the upper position is only two operations of indexing by the driving device and forward movement by the transfer device, and the number of operations is smaller than that of the conventional four operations. The head is detached from the guide block only by the rotation of the revolving structure, is indexed to a lower position, and is mounted on the drive unit. Therefore, the replacement time of the gang head can be shortened and the productivity can be improved.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a drive unit 12 is supported on a bed 10 via a feed unit 11 provided with a guide rail 11a, and the drive unit 12 is moved in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 1).
Feeding is provided, and an indexing device 20 is supported by the bed 10 directly above the drive unit 12 via a portal 13. A revolving structure 25 having a square front shape is supported by an index device 20 via a horizontal shaft 21 in the front-rear direction, is indexed by a servomotor 22, and is detachably supported on a radially outer portion thereof. Four gang heads H,
Each is indexed to an upper position A and a lower position B which is the front of the drive unit 12. The number of gang heads H supported by the revolving unit 25 is not limited to four, but may be any number of two or more.

Mainly as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of engaging guides 26 forming an engaging groove 26a having a T-shaped cross section extending in the axial direction are fixed to each radially outer portion of the rotating body 25, while each gang is An engaging member Ha having a T-shaped cross section that can engage with the engaging groove 26a is fixed to one side surface of the head H. This engagement member
Each gang head H is supported on the radially outer portion of the revolving structure 25 by the engagement between the engagement groove Ha and the engagement groove 26a so as to be disengageable by moving in the front-rear direction. A locking member Hb having a T-shaped cross section similar to the engaging member Ha is fixed to the other side surface of the gang head H.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a support frame 16 fixed to the bed 10 via a column 17 is provided from the upper side to the rear side of the index device 25. Ceiling beam 16 of support frame 16
On the lower side of a, a support rail 30 having an endless oval shape is continuously attached to the front and rear ends of both sides arranged in parallel at an arc-shaped end, and is horizontally mounted on the upper side of the floor beam 16b. An oval shelf 31 is mounted horizontally, and the front of the shelf 31 is supported on the index device 20. On the support rail 30,
Along the lower inner circumference, a plurality of transport pallets 40
(See FIG. 4) are integrally formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, each of the transport pallets 40 is integrally engaged with the upper and lower portions, and the lower side of the upper outward projection 40b contacts the upper surface of the protruding edge 30a. Contact support rail
Two rollers 41 for suspending and supporting the transport pallet 40 are provided so as to be movable along 30.
An engagement groove 40a having a T-shaped cross section extending in a direction orthogonal to 30 is formed. Each gang head H has its locking member Hb engaged with the engaging groove 40a, and is supported on the transport pallet 40 so as to be able to be disengaged and disengaged by movement in the direction orthogonal to the support rail 30, and the lower engaging member Ha On the lower surface, a pair of rollers Hd are provided to pinch and engage with a protruding edge 31a formed upright along the outer periphery of the oval shelf 31 to prevent the lower part of the gang head H from swinging.

Next, a description will be given of a driving device 50 that moves the transport pallet 40 along the support rail 30. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a drive housing 51 is provided between the support block 33 fixed on the front of the shelf board 31 and the ceiling beam 16a, and is pivotally supported by the front of the drive housing 51. A drive sprocket 56 is fixed to the upper end of the vertical drive shaft 53, and the bevel gears 54, 5
5 is driven to rotate by a servo motor 52. On the other hand, a rear block 34 is fixed on the rear part of the shelf 31 between the ceiling beam 16a and a driven sprocket 57 is rotatably provided on a rear upper surface of the shelf 31 via a vertical support shaft 59. The support rail 30 is located between the sprockets 56 and 57.
A chain 58 is stretched along the inside of the upper part with a certain gap, and the chain 58 is attached to the upper surface of the transport pallet 40 at regular intervals. The servomotor 52 moves each transport pallet 40 along the support rail 30 via bevel gears 54, 55, drive shaft 53, sprockets 56, 57 and chain 58, and a predetermined gang supported by the transport pallet 40 The head H is indexed to an exchange position C just behind the upper position A.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a pair of engaging plates Hc protruding from the upper and lower portions of the back of each gang head H are opposed to each other.
On the other hand, an engagement groove 46a is formed on the engagement protrusion 46 at the upper and lower portions of the front surface of the guide block 45 so as to be removably engaged with the opposite ends of the respective engagement plates Hc. The engagement plate Hc and the engagement groove 46a
Are engaged with the back surface of the gang head H by this engagement, and this engagement is performed by the gang head indexed to the exchange position C. H is pushed out to the upper position A by the transfer device 60 described later, and the gang head H is
It is detached by rotating together with it. The horizontal guide groove 47 formed on the back of the guide block 45 has both blocks 3
The guide rails 32 fixed to 3 and 34 are engaged to prevent the guide block 45 from rotating with respect to the gang head H during movement along the support rail 30.

Mainly, as shown in FIG. 4, a vertical rod 42 is guided and supported on the back of the transport pallet 40 so as to be movable in the axial direction, and the lower end thereof can be engaged with the small hole He on the upper surface of the engaging member Hb. It has become. A guide plate 43 fixed to the support frame 16 along the support rail 30 is engaged in the lateral groove of the member 42a fixed to the upper end of the rod 42. The engagement plate 43 is located at a position indicated by a solid line except for the replacement position C, and as shown in FIG.
42, the lower end thereof is engaged with the small hole He to restrain the movement of the gang head H with respect to the transport pallet 40.
Lift 42 and pull out the lower end of rod 42 from small hole He,
The gang head H can be detached from the transport pallet 40 by moving in the direction of the engagement groove 40a.

Next, the transfer device 60 provided behind the exchange position C will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a piston rod 61a of a transfer cylinder 61 fixed to the rear surface of the support block 33 extends forward through the support block 33, and an advance / retreat member 62 is fixed to a front end thereof. Have been. As shown in FIG. 1, the side cross-sectional shape of the advancing / retreating member 62 is a T-shape in the horizontal direction, and the planar shape of the engaging portion 62a at the tip thereof is in a state where the piston rod 61a is retracted as shown in FIG. In a state (shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1), the drive shaft 53 has an arc shape. On the other hand, in the guide block 45, an arc-shaped engagement groove 48 that can be engaged with the engagement portion 62a is formed continuously above and below the guide groove 47. When the piston rod 61a of the transfer cylinder 61 is retracted, the driving device 50
The guide block 45 engaged with the rear surface of the gang head H, which is moved to the exchange position C by the movement of the guide member 45, is so moved that the engagement groove 48 is engaged with the engagement portion 62a of the drive member 62. Has become.

Next, the gang head H supported at the upper position A is
The operation when the gang head H is replaced with a stock gang head H supported on the support rail 30 via the transport pallet 40 will be described.

First, the transfer device 60 is operated to retract the advance / retreat member 62,
The gang head H at the upper position A is retracted to the replacement position C immediately behind. This makes the gang head H
It is detached from 25 and is engaged and supported by the transport pallet 40.
A notch 31b is provided at the front of the protruding edge 31a around the shelf 31 to allow the rollers Hd provided below the gang head H to pass during the retreat. Then drive 50
Operates to move each gang head H along with each transport pallet 40 along the support rail 30 to move the gang head H at the replacement position C, and then to
The gang head H to be supported by the guide member is indexed to the exchange position C, and the guide block 45 engaged with the back surface thereof is
Engage with 62. Next, the transfer device 60 is operated to move the reciprocating member.
The gang head H indexed to the exchange position C moves to the upper position A immediately before it, is separated from the transport pallet 40 and is engaged and supported by the revolving unit 25. As described above, the gang head H at the upper position A is returned to the stock state, or the gang head H in the stock state is supported at the upper position A by two operations (a total of three operations when both are performed continuously). And the number of operations required for such replacement is smaller than in the past, so that the replacement time is shortened and the productivity is improved.

The gang head H supported at the upper position A is separated from the guide block 45 only by the rotation of the revolving unit 25 of the index device 20 and is indexed to the lower position B, and the engagement plate Hc
Is engaged with the clamp plate 12a at the front end of the drive unit 12, is clamped by retreating, is driven to rotate at the same time, and advances with the drive unit 12 to process the workpiece W fixed on the support base 15. In addition, the movement of the gang head H in the front-rear direction at the positions on both sides of the revolving unit 25 is achieved by slidably engaging one of the engagement plates Hc with an arc-shaped guide 14 (see FIG. 2) fixed to the index device 20. You are bound by:

Further, according to the present embodiment, the gang head H to be stocked is at the same height as the upper position A, so that the height of the apparatus is lower than in the prior art where the stock position is higher than the upper position A. .

In the above embodiment, the shape of the support rail 30 is an oval shape. However, the shape of the support rail can be circular or variously bent, and the number of stocks of the gang head H can be selected by selecting the shape and size. Can be arbitrarily increased. Further, the driving device 50 using the chain device as in the above embodiment is extremely effective because it can be widely applied to the supporting rails 30 of various shapes, but in the case of a circular supporting rail, a driving device using radial arms is also available. It is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings show an embodiment of a machine tool having a gang head exchanging device according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away whole side view, FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 1, and FIG. Description of reference numerals 10 …… bed, 12 …… drive unit, 16 …… support frame, 20
…… Indexing device, 25… Revolving unit, 30… Support rail, 40… Transport pallet, 45 …… Guide block, 50
…… Drive device, 60 …… Transfer device, 62 …… Advancing / retreating member, A…
... upper position, B ... lower position, C ... replacement position, H ...
Gang head, W ... Workpiece.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An index device supported above a bed, and a gang head rotatably driven around a horizontal axis in the front-rear direction by the index device and movably supported by a gang head on a radially outer portion by moving in a front-rear direction. At the front end, a revolving structure for indexing the head to an upper position and a lower position, and a gang head indexed to a lower position by the revolving structure and guided and supported on the bed so as to be able to reciprocate on the bed below the index device. In a machine tool having a gang head exchange device including a drive unit for processing a workpiece, a support frame provided above the index device and fixed to the bed, and is horizontally mounted on the support frame. Endless support rails, and one support Transport pallets that removably support the gang heads by horizontal movement perpendicular to the support rails, and gang heads supported by the pallets are provided in pairs. A guide block removably engaged with an engaging portion with a drive unit, and moving each of the transport pallets along the support rail to each gang head supported by the transport pallet. A drive device for indexing to an exchange position immediately behind the upper position of the gang head, and an advance / retreat member provided at a rear side of the exchange position and engaged with the guide block by indexing movement of the gang head to the exchange position at the front end. The gang head is disengaged from the transport pallet by the advancement of the reciprocating member, and the transfer device engages with the revolving body. Machine tool having a head exchange device.